Sustainability 06 09179

Sustainability 2014, 6, 9179-9204; doi:10.
3390/su6129179
OPEN ACCESS
sustainability
ISSN 2071-1050
www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
Article
Increasing Production and Eliminating Waste through Lean

Tools and Techniques for Halal Food Companies
Malihe Manzouri 1, Mohd Nizam Ab-Rahman 1,*, Che Rosmawati Che Mohd Zain 2
and Ezad AzraaiJamsari 3
1
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built
Environment, National University of Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia;
E-Mail: [email protected]
2
Putra Business School, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia;
3
Faculty of Islamic Studies, National University of Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia;
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: [email protected];

Tel.: +60-38921-6449.
External Editor: Marc A. Rosen
Received: 27 September 2014; in revised form: 28 November 2014 / Accepted: 2 December 2014 /
Published: 11 December 2014
Abstract: Major businesses around the world have been trying to reduce the total cost and
wastes across their supply chain to remain competitive in the expanding global market.
Hence, a collection of reliable tools and techniques are vital for decreasing costs and wastes
and for providing effective services for customer demands. Given that lean concept attempts
to decrease costs and wastes, this study aims to identify the effective lean tools required for
eliminating wastes in the supply chain. Because of the large number of consumers and the
global market of Halal products, this study focuses on Halal food supply chains. Out of the
questionnaires distributed to 300 Halal food firms in Malaysia, only 61 usable replies were
obtained. The results showed that demand collaboration, continuous improvement, and
inventory management practices are the most important tools in Lean Supply Chain (LSC)
implementation. In addition, the results indicated that only a small percentage of Halal food
companies are implementing LSC. Malaysia is an important Halal food producer in the word,
but has low level of LSC implementation among its Halal food producers. LSC is a new
concept that needs more effort to be understood and implemented.
Sustainability 2014, 6 9180
Keywords: waste management; lean supply chain; lean practices; Halal food companies;
supply chain; barriers
1. Introduction
The impact of Lean Practices (LP) on business success cannot be ignored. Lean tools and techniques
have enabled companies to be more flexible and more profitable. Several companies invest in the
implementation of LP to remain competitive. Demeterand Matyusz [1] believe that lean production is
the most popular investment choice among companies. The process comprises pull production, quality
development, process focus, continuous improvement, value stream management, and worker
empowerment. The objective of LP is to satisfy customer demands on the highest possible level through
waste reduction [2,3]. Elimination of wastes can be considered in the human resources, design,
production processes [4,5] and activities, distribution, and inventory sections. If several kinds of wastes
can be eliminated, how do companies practice the fundamental principles of lean to build adaptive, flexible,
and creative supply chains? What are the appropriate tools and techniques of the lean supply chain?
Supply chain professionals are working on means to decrease wasted effort and non-value activities
across the supply chain. According to the concept of LP, implementing its tools and techniques help
minimize such wasted effort [6]. During the first steps, supply chain partners should understand the lean
concept, and then implement its practices through high levels of collaboration and cooperation.
Most articles on LP focus on the implementation of systems, such as just-in-time (JIT), total quality
management (TQM), total preventive maintenance programs, human resource management, value
stream mapping, and vendor development, as well as their impact on operational performance [1,2,79].
Fewer studies investigate the implementation of the lean concept in the supply chain, and identify the
most important tools and techniques that carry out the objectives of the lean concept in the supply chain.
Thus, this study aims to determine the ways to implement the lean concept in the supply chain, and to
come up with effective LSC practices. Although LPs are becoming popular techniques for productivity
improvement, companies are still not certain of the cost of its implementation and the tangible and
intangible benefits they may achieve. Most of these companies fear that implementing lean practices is
costly and does not produce benefits [10]. Hence, understanding these advantages can facilitate the
implementation of the tools and techniques of LPs.
To date, the more efficient operation in Halal food supply chains has gained more attention because
of increasing competition in the developing market for Halal products. The large numbers of Muslims
(1.57 billion) in the world [11] creates a major opportunity in trading Halal products in the global
business market. Halal producers attempt to introduce their products as a symbol of quality and excellence.
As a result, they can market their products not only to Muslims, but also all over the world. Halal food is
the most important section of Halal products, not only because it is part of Islamic law, but also because of
its emphasis on cleanliness and health. The development of Halal food processing technology makes simple
food processing complex because producers must understand the religious and scientific basis of Halal food
requirement. Managing these requirements makes the Halal food chain complex. Halal food producers must
only choose suppliers who can provide Halal food requirement. To fulfill Halal rules, suppliers require
specific equipment, which need time and cost. Therefore, this study investigates how the lean concept can
be adapted in manufacturing Halal food products to improve the overall performance of companies.
This study has four sections. The first section deals with reviewing the related literature on LSC, with
particular emphasis on the concurrent implementation of strategic initiatives. The second section
describes the survey methodology used to obtain data in this study. The third section explains the results
of the survey and discusses the findings to clarify the objectives of this research. The last section presents
the conclusion and proposes future research areas.
1.1. Lean Supply Chain Practices
The term lean is a concept that implies a series of activities or solutions for eliminating waste and
non-value-added operations [12,13]. MIT was the first to use the term for the interpretation of a new
production system that had recently been used by the Japanese [14]. Because mass production results in
much waste and non-value activities, the Japanese utilize a new system that focuses on reducing waste
and preserving value with less work. Japanese producers are more productive compared to Western
producers, and the former dedicates more energy to a system that aims to remove waste at all levels [15].
The lean concept has been widely used in production systems [2,8,12,1519]. Womack [20] defines
lean production as a system that creates value-added by using less of every input, which is based on the
waste concept of the Japanese [21]. Demeter and Matyusz [1] emphasize that lean production or lean
enterprise emerges when the company implements lean development, procurement, manufacturing, and
distribution together. Lean production philosophy and concept are highly considered due to its global
superiority in cost, quality, flexibility, and quick response [22]. Several researchers emphasize the
importance of implementing lean production systems. In addition, if a company ignores lean production
strategy, the company would not stand a chance against the current global competition in terms of higher
quality, faster delivery, and lower costs [10,2325].
Scholars and practitioners discuss extensively lean production practices [2,10,2630]. As proposed
by different studies, several LPs exist (Table 1) with multiple names, overlap with other tools, and have
different methods of implementation. Shahand Ward [2] introduce 22 lean production practices. They
categorize these practices into four bundles associated with Just-in-Time, Total Quality Management, Total
Preventive Management, and Human Resource. Nordin, Deros, Wahaband Ab-Rahman [10] highlight that
LPs can be categorized according to the area of implementation, such as internally and externally-oriented
LPs. Panizzolo [31] points out many companies find difficulty in implementing lean techniques that
concern with external relationships with suppliers and customers. LPs can be divided into six areas,
namely, process and equipment, manufacturing, planning and control, human resources, product design,
supplier relationships, and customer relationships. The first four areas are grouped as internal-oriented LPs,
whereas the supplier relationships and customer relationships are under the external-oriented LPs [10,31].
Liker and Meier [29] categorize the purpose of LPs into three groups, which are problem
identification and elevation, analysis to the causes of problems, and solutions. When waste and problems
are identified, people find the solutions, and continuously improve the system [32] reveals all lean tools
are developed to support the implementation of lean principles and overall organization strategy. Hence,
a company should implement almost all the tools in the lean toolbox to become successful [33].
Table 1. Lean production practices [2,10,2629,3740].

Process and equipment
Continuous reduction of cycle time Setup time reduction
Cellular manufacturing Simplify the product design
Error proof equipment Rigorous preventive maintenance
Progressive use of new process technologies Improve process capability
Order and cleanliness in the plant 5S
Manufacturing planning and control
Leveled production Synchronized scheduling
Small lot sizing Visual control of the shop floor
Kanban/production management Mistake-proofing (poka-yoke)
Human resources
Worker training Team decision making
Cross functional team Expansion of autonomy and responsibility
Employee involvement in continuous quality improvement programs Kaizen
Customer relationship
Information sharing Customer involvement in product design
Customer involvement in quality program JIT link with customer
Flexibility on meeting customer requirement
Nordin et al. [10] highlight the need for companies to apply basic lean techniques at the start of
implementing LPs, and to implement more advanced practices to further develop lean culture and
sustainability when the change process has stabilized. The 5S, standardized work, elimination of wastes,
visual control, kanban, poka-yoke, and single minute exchange of dies are suggestions to be implemented
at the first stage [3234].
Similar to the lean production system that finds all kinds of waste in the company, the lean supply
chain (LSC) identifies and attempts to eliminate all types of wastes in the supply chain [12].
In managing the supply chain, companies focus on activities that provide the raw materials, produce the
final products, and deliver to the end customers in a cost effective manner. However, LSC focuses on
all wastes that may happen during each step in the supply chain, and attempts to reduce waste [35].
Plenert [36] highlights supply chain management (SCM) as a total system requiring integration
and optimization, which are accomplished through lean tools and techniques. Hence, a combination of the
LPs and the SCM philosophy can create successful and dynamic synergy. LSC is a strategy model for
customer-supplier relationship that focuses on partnership as collaboration. According to Phelps et al. [37],
LSC provides value to customers by optimizing the performance of the whole supply chain as a system.
Reducing inventory and cost and improving customer satisfaction are the most important aspects of LSC.
For the integration of the lean concept and SCM, the main components of LSC are the lean enterprise,
warehouse, transportation, and retailer. Lehtinen and Torkko [21] define the characteristics of LSC into
seven different areas. These areas are (1) nature of the competition; (2) basis of the source decision; (3) supply
structure; (4) role of suppliers; (5) supplier development; (6) data interchange and interaction; and (7)
production principles. According to this classification in implementing LSC, the competition is not among
the members of a supply chain, but among the supply chains. The number of sources should be decreased as
much as possible. For example, the number of suppliers should be kept low and stable. Suppliers are highly
involved in designing new products and processes, and production systems are flexible and just in time (JIT).
Compared with implementing lean production (or enterprise), adapting LPs in the supply chain is
more complex and extensive. At first, all members of a supply chain must implement lean enterprise and
identify new methods to improve their internal activities (i.e., improve quality, inventory, transportation,
and costs), and then generalize their improvements in all tiers of the supply chain. Thus, all tools and
techniques should be adapted based on the whole supply chain benefits. All value-added activities and
non-value activities are defined based on the advantages of all supply chain partners. In implementing
LSC, companies pass seven important steps. These steps are (1) develop system thinking; (2) understand
customer value; (3) value stream mapping; (4) benchmark best practices; (5) design to manage demand
volatility; (6) create flow; and (7) measure performance metrics [41]. In addition, companies need to
pass three steps in managing network process and design. These steps are (1) integration of supply chain
function within the enterprise; (2) integration of internal and external activities with supply partners; and
(3) creation of an internet connection among supply partners to make a single virtual enterprise [42].
A comparison between LSC and conventional supply chain practices highlights the numerous changes
in operational and relational issues when companies switch from conventional operation to the LSC
model [43]. According to this illustration, operations have been reduced dramatically, and their
structures have been changed to a clustered model. This change makes it possible to pursue many parallel
activities at the same time with lower resources. Based on this definition, if the procurement personnel
(as an important resource) are limited, the cost and time of activities will decrease. In addition, the
outsourcing processes changed from cost-based to strategic. The nature of interaction between partners
changes from adversarial to cooperative, and the supplier contract length is increased. Instead of
intensive inspection of product quality, companies design their products based on the comments of their
customers and suppliers. Hence, rather than inter-organizational issues, external issues have critical roles
in implementing LSC. Although the status of the LPs has been widely discussed in the literature, studies
in terms of LSC practices are limited. Clear understanding is necessary for the effective tools and
techniques in adapting LSC. Hence, this paper aims to identify the most important tools in implementing
the lean concept in the supply chain.
In reality, only a few companies are successful in its implementation of LPs despites its benefits [4446].
Literature reveals barriers and issues relating to these failures. Misunderstanding the concept and purpose
of LPs and availability of resources (time, skilled workers, and costs) are most frequently reported in
lean literature [4749]. One reason behind this lack might be cultural differences that arise in transition,
or the translation of the lean principle and techniques during implementation phases [50,51]. The lack
of resource availability (time, skilled workers and costs) is reported to be a very serious obstacle in its
adoption [32,5255]. Lack of top management support for change is another key problematic issue
reported in the literature [47,49,56]. Since all activities in a company, from planning to implementation,
are conducted under the supervision of senior managers, the absence of their support will cause
implementing lean tools and techniques to fail [57].
These barriers make it vital to demonstrate the effective benefits of adapting LPs to persuade
companies in its implementation. Since lean concept originated in automotive industries, benefits have
been observed and documented in these industries [32]. For instance, these industries reported decreased
lead times for customers, reduced inventories for manufacturers, improved knowledge management, and
more robust processes. Apart from automobile industries, lean implementation benefits have been
observed in other industries. Al-Sudairi [58] reports that implementing LPs reduces material flow
time in the construction section. Lian and Van Landeghem [59] show improvements in storage and
transportation of animal foods when they implemented LPs. Zheng et al. [60] note the reduction in
factory variability when LPs are applied. Domingo et al. [61] highlight that material flow is improved
in the assembly line of a Spanish Bosch factory when LPs are implemented. Grewal [62] reveals that
when LPs are implemented in a small manufacturing firm, the cycle time is reduced by 33.18%,
changeover time is decreased by 81.5%, lead time is reduced by 81.4%, and value-added time is reduced
by 1.41%. Seth et al. [63] claim that implementing LPs in the Indian cottonseed oil industry reduces or
eliminates waste in the processes.
1.2. Halal Definition
Similar with all other religions, Islam prescribes or prohibits certain behaviors, including the
regulation of the consumption behavior of its followers. Therefore, Muslims are likely to make purchase
decisions influenced by Islam. Muslims have the obligation to assure that the goods they consume are
true manifestations of Islamic principles, known as Halalan Tayyiba. Halal specifies products
permissible or allowed by Islam, whereas Haram refers to forbidden, unlawful, or illegal products.
Halal emphasizes the safety, hygiene, and wholesomeness of not only the final products, but also their
methods of preparation [64]. From the perspective of Muslims, Halal is an essential way of life.
Additionally, Halal is not solely confined to the types of food a Muslim is allowed to consume. This
term can be applied to cosmetics or even pharmaceuticals, shampoo, soap, and detergent.
Malaysia is the only country in the world with a government that provides full support in promoting
the Halal certification process on products and services [65]. All companies that attempt to produce Halal
products must be approved with a Halal certificate. This certificate provides assurance to all Muslim
consumers that this product fulfills the Syariah (Islam) law. Moreover, this certificate guarantees the
safety and quality of products for non-Muslims consumers.
Halal-certified sellers must use a Halal logo on their products. This practice provides an avenue for
producers to indicate to their target consumers that their products meet the Islamic standard. Halal
certification is a significant advantage to particular producers against their competitors [66]. Besides,
Malaysia is a pioneer in the development of Halal standards. The following examples further
demonstrate Malaysian involvement in the promotion of Halal. MS 1500:2009 is developed for Halal
Food in terms of production, preparation, handling, and storage. MS 2200 is developed for cosmetic and
personal care. MS 1900:2005 is developed for quality management systems (requirements from Islamic
perspectives). MS 2300:2009 is developed for value-based management system (requirements from an
Islamic perspective). MS 2400 series on Halalan-Toyyiban Assurance Pipeline is the management
system requirement for transportation, warehousing, and retailing. MS 2424:2010 is developed for Halal
Pharmaceuticals [65].
1.3. Halal Food Industry
Food is a vital component for livelihood. Thus, Halal foods are the important parts of Halal products.
Halal rules are not only concerned on safety, hygiene, and wholesomeness of the foods, but also provide
an excellent platform for healthy eating. Additionally, the place, equipment, and process of slaughtering
and storing animals most focus on Halal rules. Halal food products do not contain (1) any part or product
of non-Halal animals; (2) any part or product of Halal animals not slaughtered in accordance with
Shariah (Islamic law); (3) any ingredient that is Najs (unclean, as defined by Shariah); (4) physical,
chemical, or biological/microbial hazards; and (5) any human part or derivative. Nowadays, Halal food
products are familiar to non-Muslims because of humane animal treatment concerns. The perception that
Halal foods are healthier and safer fuelled this familiarity. Therefore, the consumption of Halal products
is no longer a mere religious obligation, but is a standard [64]. Muhammad [67] highlights that in the
Philippines, non- Muslims look for Halal foods because they perceive these products safe, healthy, and
good for the body.
In Malaysia, 62% of the population is Muslim, 24% are Chinese (mostly Buddhist), and 8% are
Indians with Hinduism as their main religion. Therefore, the large part of the food market of this country
provides Halal food products. In addition, 62% of all Muslims live in Asia [11], which provides Malaysia
the opportunity to be considered as a Halal hub among Muslim countries in the region. As a result, the
Malaysian government aims to establish this country as a global Halal hub for the promotion, production,
and transportation of Halal food products to Muslims all over the world [68]. The Malaysian government
developed the first Halal Standard (MS 1500:2004) to help food companies reach Halal procurement.
This standard provides practical guidance for the food industry on the preparation and handling of Halal
food (including nutrient supplements). Moreover, this standard guides the food industry to meet the basic
requirement for Halal food product, trade, or business in Malaysia [65].
A supply chain includes all independent companies that closely work together to manage flow of
products and information to satisfy end customer requirements at lowest possible costs. The food supply
chain starts from the farm where the animals are kept or where the seeds are grown. The chain continues
in the factory, where all processes are done to manufacture the products. This process is followed by
warehousing and distributing of final products to the end customers. In accordance with the rules and
regulations of Islam, the entire supply chain of food products from seed to fork must pursue the Halal
concept until the final product is called Halal. Thus, all materials used to produce Halal food should be
Halal, and all machineries should not be contaminated by non-Halal items. Therefore, the Halal food
supply chains are essential for Muslims because non-Muslims manage most parts of Halal supply chains.
The importance of food among Halal products makes it necessary to find out the extent to which Halal
suppliers attempt in implementing quality systems, such as LPs, to increase their profitability and
decrease their waste and non-value activities. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the implementation
of LPs in the Halal food supply chains, which are mostly necessary, and to identify how barriers impede
in these important practices.
2. Materials and Methods
This study considers the importance of Halal food products in the world and the unique contribution
of Malaysia in the procurement of these products. Consequently, the Malaysian Halal food manufacturers
were selected as the target population of this study. The list of companies encompasses bakeries, fruits
and vegetables, beverages, seafood, dairy, grains and oilseeds, beef and chicken products, and other food
components. In this study, the companies involved ranged from small to large. This range was applied
to obtain a holistic view of LSC implementation in the Halal food industry.
A questionnaire was developed based on the lean and SCM implementation concepts and practices.
A set of LSC tools was designed based on the Srinivasan [41] as well as definition of the LSC
implementation and lean concept (Table 2) of Demeter and Matyusz [1]. Value-added activities are
considered as tools to examine customer requirements in the whole supply chain because understanding
customer value is important to continue improvement in the waste reduction system [69,70]. Demand
variation and order fluctuation are the common difficulties encountered in strategy management of each
organization, which can be managed through supply chain collaboration. Managing demand volatility
not only improves organizational performance, but also recovers the outcome of the whole supply chain.
In this regard, demand collaboration and signal are considered LSC implementation tools to understand
the clarity of demand across the supply chain.
Table 2. Designing LSC practices based on LSC definition and SCM theories.
LSC Implementation [41] and [1] Designed LSC Practices Adapted Theories of SCM
Value-added activities Game theory; Organizational
Understand customer value
Eliminate wastes learning theory
Design to manage demand Demand signal Strategic choice;
volatility Demand collaboration Organizational learning theory
Create flow Data standard Resource-based view theory
Continuous improvement/ Game theory; Organizational
Measuring performance metrics Change culture learning theory;
Employee involvement Social capital theory
Company product standard
Resource based view
Industry product standard
Resource dependent theory
Benchmark best practices; Planning and production process
Institutional theory
Lean development standardization
Strategic choice
Sales and operations planning
System theory
Inventory management practice
Sharing information has a critical role in managing the supply chain. Therefore, all tiers of a supply
chain need to use a similar data format to share their information and to use their output data. Using the
industry standard data format makes data exchange possible across the whole supply chain. Hence, using
data standard was considered as another tool of LSC adaption. Each tier of a supply chain needs a
performance measurement system to monitor organizational functions. Therefore, a continuous improvement
system is required to monitor organizational performance. Based on the theory of network [71] in the SCM,
maximizing the organizational performance is possible by creating a blend of weak and strong ties in the
supply chain, which can be achieved by benchmarking from successful companies. This goal can be
accomplished at the level of planning, designing, producing, operating, or sales, depending on the
weaknesses of the company. Besides, inventory management was considered as another tool in adapting
LSC because of its importance in the supply chain operation, thereby helping the organization maintain
a competitive advantage. Any problem in managing inventory, either excessive product stock or backlog,
causes difficulties in customer order, product storage, or additional costs for transportation.
To achieve a more detailed description of these techniques, related SCM theories were involved in
designing the questionnaire construct (Table 2). According to the theory of strategic choice, the unique
blended strategies beyond the individual firm should be applied in the SCM strategy decision-making.
Thus, the supply chain, as the primary driver, is considered in all strategic decision-making processes in
each tier of a chain. Therefore, in implementing LSC tools (Table 2), the decision must be made based
on the whole supply chain benefits. The resource-based view theory [71] suggests that each tier can earn
competitive advantages using valuable, priceless, and rare resources of its supply chain. According to
this point of view, the supply chain is an inimitable competitive weapon, which can provide capability
for product and process improvement. Moreover, institutional theory suggests sharing of organizational
recipes among supply partners. Therefore, using supply chain resources and sharing organizational
recipes make it possible for companies to standardize the planning, producing, and stock management
processes across the whole supply chain. In addition, planning sales and operations in companies can
use online tools available to all supply chain partners. More importantly, in developing new products, a
high proportion of shared parts from other product lines of supply chain partners can be used. This
strategy not only decreases designing time, but also avoids wasting time in making new tools and
production line for these shared products because they were already produced in the other tier of the
supply chain. Moreover, since the supply chain resources are shared, supply chain partners can use global
or industry standard data format in exchanging products, availability, and sales-related data.
Game theory [72] suggests that a trustworthy relationship and mutual relation impede supply partners
to pursue individual benefits instead of supply advantages. Organizational learning theory [73] implies
sharing of knowledge and experiences among supply chain partners. Thus, if companies actively perform
collaborative practices with their suppliers and customers as well as share their knowledge and experiences,
non-value-added activities and numerous kinds of waste would be eliminated dramatically [74]. Social
capital theory [72] suggests that joining for problem solving and sharing goals, experiences, information,
and values among supply chain partners can improve organizational performance. Thus, all partners can
establish a continuous improvement culture across the whole supply chain.
Since employers carry out all processes and activities, cooperation and coordination play an essential
role in implementing LSC practices. Undoubtedly, implementing a new system takes time. Additionally,
implementation is difficult to establish. Therefore, employers should not only be trained, but also
encouraged and supported to believe they are valued assets.
Throughout the construction of the questionnaire, discussions were held with three food experts in
the field of lean and SCM to check on the clarity of the questions and appropriateness of the proposed
scale. These experts were chosen based on their willingness to participate and their level of experience
(more than 10 years) in implementing lean and SCM initiatives in the food industry. The comments and
feedback given were very useful in enhancing, amending, and improving the questionnaire. Based on
the suggestions of the experts, the questions related to the LSC tools were completed.
This section is categorized by 12 parts (Table 3). Each part consists of four subsets (A, B, C and D).
Each subset identifies the level of implementation of the main part. Thus, A shows no implementation,
B shows little implementation, C shows extensive implementation, and D shows complete
implementation. To clarify the notion and aim of each item, the subset explains the possibility of level
of implementation, instead of using terms, such as no implementation, little implementation,
extensive implementation, and complete implementation. Experts believe that this style provides an
opportunity for the respondent to understand fully the items and avoid possible misunderstanding.
Table 3. LSC practices.

Demand signal
Product is pushed through the channel based on forecast
Demand forecasts are created based on actual usage of product (current stock levels,
min/max levels, or order points) and projected sale
Product is pulled through the channel based on actual usage data from upstream supply chain partner
Product is pulled through the channel using consumer demand from point of sale systems
in near real time
Demand collaboration
Supply chain partners do not work together to share real or anticipated demand
Some discussions between key supply chain (2 or 3) partners to get better view of products and market
Most supply chain partners (3 or more) exchange product and sales data electronically,
typically not real Time
Demand is conveyed upstream to partners in real time from point of sale; partners jointly participate in
analyzing demand
Sales and operations planning
S&OP is developed internally by unrelated teams
S&OP is an integrated cross functional tool, but does not include the supply chain partner
S&OP is a joint effort with all key supply chain partners sharing data and plans
S&OP is a collaborative process using online tools available to all supply chain partner
Inventory management practice
Purchases based solely on unit price without regard to total cost (carrying costs, transportation, etc.)
Inventory is managed independently and focus is on the cost of the total purchase
Supply chain partners jointly consider lead time reductions and postponement strategies
Supply chain partners have implemented inventory visibility systems and processes to reduce excess
inventory throughout the supply chain
Planning and production process standardization
No attempts are made to standardize internal or external processes
Processes may be documented by the operator, but may be considered proprietary and are not shared
with supply chain partner
Processes used by the various supply chain partners are well understood by all, although the
understanding is not standardized
Planning, production, and stock management processes are defined and standardized
across the supply chain
Company product standard
Products are non-standard or no-shared component
Internal parties attempt to impose standardization of product component
Actively look for opportunities to share components during new product development
Products developed have high proportions of shared parts from other product lines
Table 3. Cont.
Industry product standard
No industry standards and products are considered to be proprietary
Individual partners attempt to set their own standards outside of industry standards group
Partners agree to standardize products based on standards set by outside group
Supply chain partners participate in industry standards bodies or partners use industry standards in
development and manufacture of products
Data Standard
Data are considered to be proprietary and are not shared
Individual supply chain partners make information available to key partners, but make no attempt to
assist in data conversion
Key supply chain partners (2 or 3) use standardized data formats for information exchange
All supply chain partners exchange products, availability, and sales-related data using global and/or
industry standard data format
Waste
Waste reduction is focused at the functional areas within the company
Company analyzes internal processes to minimize waste
Some supply chain partners begin working together to eliminate waste
All supply chain partners understand end-to-end processes and work together to eliminate waste
throughout the supply chain
Value-added activities
No clear distinction between value-added and non-value-added activities
Individual supply chain awareness of value-added, but not have actively worked to eliminate
non-value-added activities
Collaborative practices are being explored with supply chain suppliers or customers to eliminate
Collaborative practices are actively performed with both suppliers and customers to eliminate
Continuous improvement/Change culture
No continuous improvement programs in place
Informal improvement projects in place
Operational level change leaders have been identified and are educated on the need to change and
how to effect change
Management has a well-developed published vision for all facilities, and has operating objectives
that fully support the vision or a culture of continuous improvement exists across the supply chain
People
Employees are viewed as expendable, or most training is limited to on the job training
Managers are concerned about employees, but provide little institutional support or resource
Resources are available for employee development or a culture of continuous improvement is in place
in most departments
Employees believe that they are a valued asset or formal improvement processes are in place
The questionnaire was distributed to Halal food manufacturers who participated in the food festivals
held in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia in 2011 and 2012. Companies from all over Malaysia
participated in these festivals. Collecting several responses was difficult because the population of this
study is limited to Halal food companies in Malaysia. On hundred Halal food companies asked to
participate in this study answered the questionnaire appropriately. Just 100 companies answered the
questionnaire appropriately. This response rate is acceptable based on previous studies on lean and SCM
implementation (i.e., [10,75]) and the rate of used constructs [76]. The personnel selected to answer the
questionnaire were managing directors, managers of planning or strategy, production, marketing or sales,
supply chain, quality and engineering departments. These managers are involved in the implementation
of LSC in their respective firms.
Respondents were asked to participate in a face-to-face interview and answer the questionnaire.
Face-to-face interviews clarified ambiguities and made the questionnaire fully understandable. The
questionnaire comprised three parts. These parts are (1) background information of the firm, including year
of establishment, ownership, number of employees, and quality system certification; (2) LSC practices
implementation; and (3) respondent information, including job title, department, and years of service.
The method of Johnston et al. [77] was adopted in this study to estimate the likelihood of a
non-response bias. Responses to LSC tool variables of four groups of participants in two different Halal
food festivals (Penang and Kuala Lumpur) were compared among respondents who replied immediately
and respondents who sent their replies after the festivals by mail. The average responses in each case
varied by less than 1%, which suggests that values would not change significantly if more sample had
responded. A combination of face validity and convergent validity (in Smart PLS software) was used to
estimate the appropriate reflection of the measurement items of LSC practices. According to Johnston,
McCutcheon, Stuart and Kerwood [77], this method uses alternative ways of judging multiple-item
consistency instead of Cronbachs alpha. Therefore, in addition to Cronbachs alpha, tests were
conducted on the reliability of individual items that make up the measures, the composite reliability (CR)
of the items as a group, and the average variance extracted (AVE) from the construct (LSC tools) of the
items (Table 4). Malhotra [78] suggests that a value of 0.6 or less from 0 to 1 in Cronbachs alpha test
indicates unsatisfactory consistency reliability. The value of Cronbachs alpha of the LSC practice items
in this study was measured via Smart PLS software (Table 4). The results show a high level (0.91) of
consistency among items.
Table 4. Convergent validity of LSC variables.

CR > 0.7 and CR > AVE AVE > 0.5 CA > 0.7
Composite reliability AVE Cronbachs alpha
0.9313 0.5383 0.9171
The loading factor was used to assess the reliability of individual items of the LSC practices [77]
suggests that 0.7 is the minimum level for item loading. Out of the twelve items of LSC practices, four
items were below this threshold at 0.63, 0.4, 0.56, and 0.64 (Table 5). CR assesses inter-item consistency,
which must be at a minimum value of 0.7. The results in Table 4 demonstrate acceptable performance
based on this principle.
The third standard of reliability is the AVE of the LSC practices (construct) that exceeds 0.5. This
values shows that the items share at least half of their variance with the construct. These results reveal
the acceptability of this standard. CR > AVE is another standard of reliability, which was achieved in
this study (Table 4). Four items demonstrate loading factors (Table 5). According to [77], these values
are not extremely low to render the measure of this construct as unacceptable. Thus, the items that were
selected to define LSC practices are consistent and reliable.
Table 5. Factor loading of LSC practice items.

LSC practice Factor
Demand signal 0.6351
Demand collaboration 0.3674
S&OP planning 0.7383
Inventory management practice 0.6507
Planning and production process standardization 0.8567
Company product standard 0.7469
Industry product standard 0.6417
Data standard 0.8146
Waste 0.8698
Value-added activities 0.7615
Continuous improvement/Change culture 0.7731
People 0.8072
3. Results and Discussion
Data from the questionnaires show that the production of Halal food products is popular among local
companies in Malaysia. The majority of participating companies (Figure 1) are local companies and few
foreign companies or joint ventures.
Figure 1. Type of ownership.
3% 5%
local
foreign
92% joint
venture
The size of companies (Figure 2) was classified based on the number of full-time employees
(according to the SEMcorp, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2012 definition) because several participants did
not indicate their annual turnover. The highest percentage of participating companies (48%) belonged to
small companies that have less than 50 full-time employees. The rate of medium (26%) and large (26%)
companies are identical. Table 6 shows that Halal food production is the main domain of small
companies because majority of Malaysians are Muslims who intend to produce Halal food products.
Certain small companies that produce Halal products have definite consumers. Chi-square test was
employed to understand the relationship between company size and the possibility of implementing LSC
tools. The results show that the size of companies facilitates the implementation of human resource
(people) activities, value-added activities, planning, and production process standardization. The
possibility of implementing these tools increases with the growing size of companies. Large companies
can adapt to these tools easily because they have more financial resources. However, the implementation
of other tools is not facilitated in large companies, which could be attributed to lack of understanding of
LSC tools and management support.
Figure 2. A: Number of Employees.
26% Small
48%
Medium
26% Large
Table 6. Size of company and ownership.

Small Medium Large
Local 45% 23% 24%
Foreign 2% 0 1%
Joint-venture 1% 3% 1%
About 18% of respondents did not have quality system certification. Thus, majority of Halal food
companies have yet to apply LSC. Figure 3 shows more than 74% of respondents were certified by
HACCP. Around 23% of the respondents were certified by ISO9001, and 26% was certified by
ISO22000. A small number of participants registered other types of quality certificates. About 46% of
the responding companies had one quality certificate. Only 2% of the companies had four quality
certificates. Therefore, the number of quality-certified companies in Halal food industries in Malaysia is
extremely low, which is a matter that requires attention. This situation could be attributed to the small
number of Halal food companies in Malaysia. Small firms in Malaysia are registered as sole proprietorships
and are managed by the owner [79]. The owner conducts decisions regarding the implementation of a new
system because he or she determines the development of the business.
Figure 3. Quality system implementation (%).
ISO/TS22002 1
PAS220 1
ISO14470 1
ISO14000 2
ISO22000 26
ISO21469 1
HACCP 74
ISO9001 23
Small businesses often have limited resources [79,80], especially new start-up companies that are
highly dependent on the ability of the owner to generate resources. These firms are not successful in
implementing new systems because any change requires additional capital or resources. The structure of
these firms is often flat and informal. Employees can function as generalists because there is no clear
demarcation of tasks. Hence, the implementation of a new system is not such a difficult task because
owners will have more flexibility to adapt to changes in the environment due to their size and informal
structure. However, Table 7 shows that the rate of quality system implementation in large Halal food
companies is not interesting. This situation can be attributed to the lack of awareness of quality system
because these companies do not often face top manager decision and capital problems. These companies
are not aware of the importance of these quality systems, and their customers are not aware of their
benefit and existence.
Table 7. Quality system and company size.
Small Medium Large
ISO 9001 5% 8% 10%
HACCP 31% 22% 21%
ISO 21469 1% 0 0
ISO 22000 3% 11% 12%
ISO 14000 0 1% 1%
ISO 14470 0 0 1%
PAS 220 0 0 1%
ISO/TS 22002 0 0 1%
The chi-square test was used to understand the influence of quality system application on LSC tool
implementation. The results show the relationship between the adoption of ISO 9001 system and the
possibility of implementing LSC tools. The companies that adopted ISO 9001 at the highest range are
most successful in implementing LSC tools. By contrast, the adoption of HACCP and ISO 22000 and
the implementation of LSC tools are not correlated. ISO 9001 standard helps companies to meet
customer needs while meeting product quality requirements. This standard is in the same line of LSC
tools because its aim is to improve overall performance. Thus, non-LSC companies may apply ISO9001
in preparation for LSC implementation.
This study shows that demand collaboration practice, which has a mean score of 2.96 (Figure 4), was
implemented at the highest level during the adoption of LSC. Table 8 shows how these companies
implemented different levels of LSC practices (A to D). About 41.7% of these companies have fully
implemented demand collaboration, in which demand is conveyed upstream to partners in real time from
the point of sale (POS). The partners jointly participate in demand analysis. About 22.9% of these
companies, which are mostly supply chain partners (three or more), electronically exchange product and
sales data, but not in real time. About 25% of these companies are not successful in managing their
supply chain demand. Only the key supply chain (two or three) partners make the discussion to obtain a
better view of products and markets. However, 10.4% of the participants do not share real or anticipated
demand. To achieve LSC, supply chain partners should consider unique blended strategies that are
beyond their individual firms, and these strategies should be applied in their decision-making. The results
show that the demands and orders in majority of Halal food companies are planned with the collaboration
of most partners. Some of their processes may need changes because they do not possess the required
experiences. The organizational learning theory of SCM suggests that these companies can use the
knowledge of their supply chain partners in managing these processes.
Figure 4. Mean score of LSC practices.
People 2.56
Continuous Improvement / Change Culture 2.81
Value Added Activities 2.75
Waste 2.67
Data Standard 2.46
Industry Product Standard 2.60
Company Product Standard 2.63
Planning & Production Process Standardization 2.42
Inventory Management Practice 2.79
Sales & Operations Planning 2.35
Demand Collaboration 2.96
Demand Signal 2.23
Table 8. Rate (%) of LSC practices implementation.

Item A B C D
Demand Signal 18.8 54.2 12.5 14.6
Demand Collaboration 10.4 25.0 22.9 41.7
Sales and Operations Planning 29.2 33.3 10.4 27.1
Inventory Management Practice 14.6 33.3 10.4 41.7
Planning and Production Process Standardization 14.6 54.2 6.3 25.0
Company Product Standard 16.7 35.4 16.7 31.3
Industry Product Standard 18.8 37.5 8.3 35.4
Data Standard 22.9 35.4 14.6 27.1
Waste 14.6 39.6 10.4 35.4
Value-Added Activities 14.6 35.4 10.4 39.6
Continuous improvement 14.6 27.1 20.8 37.5
People 22.9 33.3 8.3 35.4
The second important practice of LSC implementation is continuous improvement, which obtained a
mean score of 2.81 (Figure 4). About 37.5% of the companies have fully implemented this practice.
Their management has well-developed published visions for all facilities and operating objectives that
fully support the vision. A continuous improvement culture exists across the entire supply chain. About
20.8% of the companies that are implementing continuous improvement practice stated that their leaders
have been identified at the operational level change and are being educated on the need to change and
how to effect change. These companies do not fully implement this practice, but are at the high stage of
adaption. About 27.1% of the companies are at the first stage of implementation and have recently
focused on informal improvement projects. By contrast, 14.6% of the companies have no existing
implementation and any continuous improvement program. The high level of adoption of continuous
improvement practice is a very important tool in LSC implementation. Implementing a continuous
improvement program in the entire supply chain cannot be accomplished unless all partners join in the
problem solving and sharing of goals, experiences, information, and values. The first step is anchored in
game theory, where these companies create a trustworthy relationship and mutual relation to pursue
supply advantages. Next, these companies participate in joint problem solving and knowledge sharing.
Companies with limited experiences are expected to learn from their strong partners in terms of
managing activities more effectively.
Inventory management is the third important practice in LSC implementation because it is directly
related to demand management across the supply chain. These supply chains are expected to be
successful in managing their inventory because they highly implement demand collaboration. They can
receive the required and reliable demand information of their partners, which is needed for managing
their inventory. Several companies (41.7%) stated that their supply chain partners have implemented
inventory visibility systems and processes to reduce excess inventory throughout the supply chain.
Sharing of inventory data suggests the existence of a trustworthy relationship across supply chains to
obtain the advantages. Hence, supply chains do not only reduce inventory process and associated costs,
but they also allow products to be produced and delivered in the right time, at the right place, and with
right quality and quantity. Most companies are adapting inventory management programs. However, the
remaining companies are yet to commence implementation. Only 10.4% of the companies reported that
their supply chain partners jointly consider lead-time reductions and postponement strategies, which
indicate a satisfactory level of inventory management. By contrast, 33.3% of the companies stated that
their inventory is managed independently and their focus is on the cost of the total purchase. The rest of
the companies (14.6%) do not consider inventory management in their strategy plan. These companies
only focus on unit price without considering total cost (carrying costs, transportation, etc.). These
companies do not respect the benefits of the entire supply chain and solely focus on their individual
benefits. The strategic choice and game theories of SCM suggest that the lack of trustworthy relationship
prevents these companies from making a strong bond in managing their activities. Inventory is not an
easy process because it is dependent on management, design, production, and distribution activities. The
design department must prepare 2D and 3D drawings to crate tools and molds on time. The transportation
system must send semi-processed products on time to feed the production line, which is expected to
produce the product on time. Therefore, inventory management requires a strong bond among suppliers
and customers to send and to receive information and products on time.
The implementation of value-added activities is the fourth important practice in LSC implementation
(Figure 4). The results show that 37.5% of Halal food companies fully implement this practice. Collaborative
practices are actively being performed between suppliers and customers to eliminate non-value-added
activities. However, 20.8% of Halal food companies reported that the collaborative practices being
explored with their suppliers and customers are not yet fully implemented. About 27.1% of these
companies are aware of the value-added, but they have not actively worked to eliminate non-value-added
activities. About 14.6% of the companies do not have a clear distinction between value-added and
non-value-added activities. Thus, more than half of the Halal food companies collaborate with their
partners to eliminate non-value-added activities. This approach shows a high level of implementation
and understanding of this tool. A high percentage of Halal food companies are expected to succeed in
managing their activities, which include demand, design, production, storage, distribution, and human
resource, because these companies are collaborating with their supply chain partners to eliminate
non-value-added activities. The results of this study meet this expectation and show a high level of
demand collaboration, improved storage, continuous improvement, waste reduction, production
cooperation, and human resource improvement (Table 8).
Waste reduction, which has a mean score of 2.67, is the fifth important tool in LSC implementation
(Figure 4). Some Halal food companies (35.4%) reported that their supply chain partners understand the
end-to-end processes and work together to eliminate wastes throughout the supply chain. This
collaboration indicates that these companies have a high level of waste reduction implementation.
By contrast, a small percentage of Halal food companies (14.6%) stated that waste reduction only
focused on functional areas within their company. These companies have no internal processes or
collaboration among their supply partners to reduce waste. The rest of the companies are in the process
of minimizing wastes in their internal activities and the entire supply chain (Table 8). These results
indicate a good level of awareness of basic concept of LPs among Halal food companies (wastes
reduction). These companies are expected to implement LSC practices fully and successfully.
Company and industry product standard is the sixth important tool of LSC implementation
(Figure 4). New products were developed based on existing products of the internal production line
among more than 31% of these companies as well as on the production line of their partners. This
strategy reduces the risk of encountering problems in design, production, storage, packaging, and
distribution processes. This strategy can eliminate waste, and save time, money, and human resources.
Companies can achieve various benefits from sharing standard products in their supply chain. However,
less than 19% (Table 8) of Halal food companies do not use standard products in their production line,
which can be attributed to their lack of awareness of the benefits of product sharing or the lack of
collaboration and trust among supply chain partners.
Human resource is the seventh important practice in LSC implementation (mean score 2.56; Figure 4).
Employees from 35.4% of these companies believe they are valuable assets. They believe that strategic
decisions were made based on the benefits of the employees, and they are involved in the implementation
of new systems such as LSC. About 8.8% of the companies allocate resources for employee
development. However, more than 50% of Halal food companies do not pay considerable attention to
its employees. Managers are concerned about their employees, but limited institutional support or
resources are allocated to them. These results explain the reason why Halal food companies are not
completely successful in implementing LSC. The implementation of each new system is highly
dependent on the workers who are directly or indirectly involved in its implementation. Therefore, lack
of employee satisfaction may cause new system adoption to fail.
The use of standard data is another important practice of LSC implementation. Information sharing
is one of the most important issues in supply chain management [81]. Every part of the supply chain is
deeply influenced by information. Daily operational decisions are made at each stage of the supply chain
according to the available information. Thus, the use of global or industry standard data can facilitate
information sharing among supply chain partners. However, some Halal food companies (27.1%) use
global or industry standard data format to exchange product availability and sales-related data. About
22.9% of these companies do not share information with their partners. Therefore, these chains may face
issues related to the management of production, inventory, and distribution systems. The lack of
trustworthy relationship and top management support, financial problems, and lack of appropriate IT
infrastructure are the most important reasons behind this matter.
Planning and production process standardization (Figure 4) has a low mean score (2.42) compared
with other LSC tools, which indicates that this tool is less important. About 14.6% of Halal food
companies did not attempt to standardize their processes internally or across the supply chain. Majority
of these companies (54.2%) standardized their internal processes, but they did not share these standards
with their supply chain partners. Only 25% of the participants have fully implemented this practice.
These companies defined their planning, production, and stock management processes and standardized
these processes across the supply chain.
POS data are important information that can be shared across the supply chain to decrease demand
variation and order fluctuation. The supplier can produce superior inventory management and demand
predictions by receiving relevant POS information. A company can also gain competitive edge because
the POS information of competing products can be tracked to improve the sales strategy for its own
products. POS data sharing shows the amount of gross product and clarifies local demand patterns, costs,
and promotion schedules [82]. Despite these benefits, majority of Malaysian Halal food companies do
implement sales and operations planning for sharing POS data. Only 27.1% of these companies have
sales and operations planning, which uses on-line tools that are available to the supply chain partner.
The low percentage of sales data sharing reveals that these companies are not aware of the advantages
of using this data or they do not trust their partners with the information.
Demand collaboration is the most important practice in LSC implementation. However, demand
signal is afforded with the lowest attention (Figure 4), which is attributed to lack of appropriate
forecasting system. Most companies (54.2%) forecast their demand based on actual product usage
(current stock levels, min/max levels, or order points) and projected sales. Only 14.6% of the companies
reported that their products are pulled from the channel using consumer demand from POS systems in
real time. Thus, the lack of sales and operations planning practice causes difficulty in implementing
demand signal practices.
Manzouri et al. [83] conducted a similar study among Malaysian Halal food companies to examine
their lean manufacturing (LM) practices adoption. These results indicate that most work was conducted
in human resources, which was focused on worker training. However, supplier and customer relationship
practices, which include information sharing and supplier and customer involvement in management of
activities, were at the lowest level. These results indicate the reasons that they did not succeed in LSC
implementation. The lack of supplier-customer collaboration in fulfilling relevant activities causes
difficulties in supply chain management either in material flow or information sharing. These companies
pursue individual benefits instead of supply advantages. The game theory of SCM suggests the
importance of a trustworthy and mutual relationship among supply chain partners to facilitate the risk
and reward sharing and to avoid individual activities.
4. Conclusions
These results show that the important tools of LSC implementation include demand collaboration,
continuous improvement, inventory management practices, value-added activities, waste reduction,
company and industry standard, human resource, data standard, planning and production process
standardization, sales and operations planning, and demand signal. However, most companies aim for
the full implementation of demand collaboration, inventory management, and value-added activities
tools at the highest rate, which indicates the importance of adapting these activities across the supply
chain. First-stage adoption partners must jointly participate in demand analysis before the implementation
of visibility systems and processes for inventory. Collaborative practices must be actively performed at
all stages of LSC adoption. Companies have little interest in adopting sales and operations planning
activities across the whole supply chain. Most companies intend to develop their sales and operation
planning individually. Companies should utilize POS data and implement this practice across the entire
supply chain because of the benefits of information sharing and use of POS data.
This study shows that Malaysian Halal food companies do not succeed in the adoption of LSC
practices. These companies manage their activities individually regardless of supply chain benefits.
These findings indicate the unfamiliarity of these companies with the concept of lean adaption and their
lack of full understanding of the goal of supply chain. Human resources, which include worker training,
employee involvement in LSC implementation, team decision-making, and cross-functional teams, are
not important practices in LSC implementation. Thus, the lack of quality system adoption in some
companies can be attributed to human resources. The appropriate treatment of workers encourages them
to participate in the adoption of new systems to avoid system failure. Proper forecasting systems for
demand management are not deployed and are mostly focused on pushed systems instead of pulling
systems. Less attention is afforded to the use of standard data, which causes serious issues, especially in
information sharing. Most of these companies do not have a comprehensive system for the development
of standard products, which can help them decrease human error and risk of failure during design,
molding, production, and packaging. However, continuous improvement systems have gained
considerable attention from these companies. Thus, this tool is expected to overcome various issues.
However, the results did not meet this expectation and showed several shortcomings. Therefore, these
supply chains were not fully successful in its implementation despite the existence of a continuous
improvement culture. These supply chains must expand their decision-making and practices.
Some findings of the study require further research. First, the effect of LSC implementation tools and
techniques on the improvement of company performance can be further studied. Another area that
requires further exploration is the examination of barriers to the implementation of LSC practices and
the possibility of recovering these issues. The sample used in this study consisted of respondents from
Halal food industries in Malaysia. Future researchers may conduct a similar study not only in Malaysian
industries but also in other Islamic countries.
5. Recommendations for Halal Food Companies
Since the study indicates lack of LSC practices adoption among Halal food companies, the paper
suggests some steps to help them in implementing these practices more successfully. The first step is to
understand the ultimate goal of LSC via benchmarking from leading LSC companies and participating
in training courses. In this stage understanding LSC concepts, implementation, requirements, barriers
and benefits by top managers indicate the critical role, since they will supervise all changes in future.
In the next step these companies need to change their point of view from seeking individual benefits
to the whole supply chain interests. In this regard, conducting meeting with supply chains members to
share their common interests can be a good start. Involving all workers in implementing LSC is the next
stage. These companies need to conduct training courses for all employees, consider team decision-
making and cross-functional teams in managing and implementing LSC practices. These efforts make
all employees feel responsible and involve in adopting these practices, which avoids system failure.
Afterwards, these companies need to implement a proper IT infrastructure to manage their information
systems. This system helps them to forecast their demands, to develop standard products, and decrease
human error (in design, molding, production, and packaging). At the final stage they should apply
continues improvement systems.
In implementing and applying all these practices government has critical role. Documenting all
related experiences of LSC companies is an important part of this role. It would be a fundamental step
to add these experiences in MS 1500:2009 standard, which helps other companies to follow standard
steps. Conducting LSC training course by some government affiliated agency (such as Jabatan Kemajuan
Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) and Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri (JAIN) in Malaysia) make it possible for all
companies to access reliable training resources. Moreover, government can assign some sort of awards
for those companies that make best efforts to apply LSC practices and are successful. In addition to these
awards, government can allocate some kind of financial
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank an editor and three anonymous referees for their constructive
comments and suggestions. This work is supported by the University National Malaysia programs
(UKM-GUP-2011-053; Integrating the Value of Lean and Green Supply Chain Practice in Halal
Manufacturing Sectors, PHI-2014-002; Knowledge Transfer Programme-KTP Grant and Nurturing SMEs
through the application of SME-on-STAT as a Green ICT Tool for Quality and Productivity Improvement).
Author Contributions
Manzouri and Ab-Rahman mostly contributed equally at designing questionnaire and data collection.
Halal sections were supervised by Che Mohd Zain and Jamsari. Manzouri analyzes the data and writes
the paper. Ab-Rahman provides all required fund and materials. All authors read and approved the
final manuscript.
Conflicts of Interest
The author declares no conflicts of interest.

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Sustainability 2014, 6, 9179-9204; doi:10.

Increasing Production and Eliminating Waste through Lean

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: [email protected];

External Editor: Marc A. Rosen

1.1. Lean Supply Chain Practices

Table 1. Lean production practices [2,10,2629,3740].

1.2. Halal Definition

1.3. Halal Food Industry

2. Materials and Methods

Table 3. LSC practices.

Table 4. Convergent validity of LSC variables.

Table 5. Factor loading of LSC practice items.

3. Results and Discussion

Figure 1. Type of ownership.

Figure 2. A: Number of Employees.

Table 6. Size of company and ownership.

Figure 3. Quality system implementation (%).

Figure 4. Mean score of LSC practices.

Table 8. Rate (%) of LSC practices implementation.

5. Recommendations for Halal Food Companies

The author declares no conflicts of interest.

79. Karimikia, H. Impact of it strategy on business strategy in small malaysian enterprises. In

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